Healthy and balanced diet, a moderate physical activity, everything helps to combat obesity. From today, however, we have at our disposal one more ally against overweight and conditions related to overweight such as increased inflammation and high cholesterol, ginger! This emerges from a recent scientific research published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health by a Korean team (Seo et al, Int J Environ Res Public Health., 2021).
The risks of obesity
Obesity is characterized by the accumulation of fat in adipose tissue. The problem is that this fat, especially if located on the waistline, is not inert but a real endocrine organ, capable of producing hormones and releasing substances that increase the levels of inflammation. Inflammation, in the long term, can increase the risk of developing diabetes, high blood pressure and cardiovascular problems. This is why it is important to combat obesity, more than a cosmetic problem it is a question of health.
The beneficial properties of ginger
Ginger is a spice with a scent vaguely reminiscent of lemon, it is pleasantly spicy and is characterized by antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic and immunostimulating properties. An anti-obesity action of ginger was also observed. However, to date, no in vivo tests have ever been performed to evaluate how ginger can enter the mechanisms of fat production and of the release of pro-inflammatory substances by adipose tissue. To evaluate this action, the researchers decided to perform the experiment we are talking about today.
How ginger fights obesity, the experiment
The experiment was performed on animals, which had been divided into three groups. The first group was given a high-fat diet for seven weeks. The second group was given the same high-fat diet plus the addition of powdered ginger, about 5 grams of ginger per kg of food consumed, for the same period of time, and finally the third group ate a low-fat diet. At the end of the experiment it was observed that the group that consumed ginger had a reduction in body weight gain compared to the group that ate the same high-fat diet but did not take ginger. Also the fasting blood sugar, cholesterol and fat levels in the liver lowered. Not only that, the group that had taken ginger had high levels of the enzyme carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1, which is linked to a reduction in the levels of inflammation caused by the presence of fat.
Conclusions
It is believed that the anti-obesity action of ginger demonstrated here is due to the antioxidant properties of ginger. For this reason, now we have one more reason to add ginger, without excess, in our diet. For example, you can grate ginger on vegetables, salads, fish or fruit salad. Or you can prepare delicious ginger teas. Just bring a cup of water to a boil, remove from the heat and add 2 centimeters of ginger, peeled. Let it rest for 15 minutes, then filter and drink. And don't throw away the ginger, you can eat it!
